What Does it Mean to be Sued for $1 million

You may have read about $1 million lawsuits, $10 million lawsuits or more but what does that claim amount really mean?

In Ontario, Plaintiffs include a claim amount at the top of their Statement of Claim. The Plaintiffs may ask for damages in whatever amount they choose. $1 million is a common claim amount.

Sometimes, the $1 million claim amount is a realistic damages amount for the Plaintiffs to ask for at the time their lawsuit is issued. Sometimes, that's just an amount that the lawyers want to leave open as a possibility. On other occasions, the $1 million figure is just a starting point that will be revised upward.

Now, how does a court arrive at big judgments of $1 million or more? This can be complicated to answer. In a contract setting, if $1 million is owed then the damages could be about that amount. In a personal injury lawsuit, the Plaintiff could be left facing a lifetime of 24 hour attendant care or be left unable to earn a living. Think how much that could cost.

To conclude, the amount listed at the top of a Statement of Claim only gives you a small idea of where the lawsuit might go. It may not be too useful to refer to lawsuits by their claim amounts.